When The Levees Broke Response Essay

The natural disaster in 2005 proved to be a major blow to many authoritative figures and organizations. Their failure to responsibly provide citizens’ safety at emergency situations left scars all around the world. The federal government had failed to completely step in when stae and local authorities exhibited minimal signs of motivation to support the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. In response to the film “When the Levees Broke” by director Spike Lee, the documentary clearly displayed the devastating situation that citizens were stuck in, but with few and late assistance from their own governmental representatives, citizens were fighting to survive. To make matters worse, the people were the first in sight to provide assistance to their

anyone in need, despite their already desperate circumstances. Those that claimed to take action failed to initiate provocative measures before the disaster and left the people to fend for themselves after the storm hit.

Safety measures were taken too late both before and after Hurricane Katrina had hit and broken through the levees.

Early mid-August when alerts were sent out concerning Hurricane Katrina, George Bush Presidential Administration were not dynamic enough to make sure that protective actions were to be taken to ensure the safety of its citizens. Even with warnings, the government did not take forceful, initiative action to protect the people in every way from the upcoming disaster. Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, and her administration further failed the people of Louisiana by ignoring constant warnings of the danger; Blanco and her administration did not think too highly of the possibly pious event that later transformed into a greater catastrophe. Mayor Ray Nagin and his mayoral administration had also failed to take immediate action to be better prepared for the strike, deciding to call for a mandatory evacuation only about 24 hours before the storm reached.Their waver in making a decision to prevent their citizens from receiving harm highly affected the results, and in the end they had recourse to the use of the superdome. These authoritative figures should have verified the issues and quickly taken action, yet they paid little to no attention to these fervent

warnings.

After the heavy, disastrous scene that had lasted for days, the first to throw themselves out into the polluted flood and assist were the citizens themselves. The George Bush Presidential Administration and FEMA failed to act quickly and be ready at hand to save its citizens from being stuck and restrained in horrifying areas. Furthermore, they did not provide enough help to search for strained citizens and provide them with care. FEMA left many of the lower class citizens to fend for themselves first with no food or clean water or medical aid by not distributing enough. A myriad of citizens in the lower classes failed to survive because of the meager support and rescue teams that the government sent out. Above all, foreigners from nations such as Canada had arrived to provide assistance alongside the United States Coastal Guards in places that the federal government and Louisiana’s authorities did not reach.

Once a major issue materializes in 2005, the George Bush Presidential Administration, FEMA, Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Ray Nagin, and their administrations did not do its job to help in every possible way in the emergency situation. State and local authorities did not immediately throw themselves out there, and the federal government did not take precautious actions to further prevent the disaster that was created. FEMA failed to provide its support, although this type of circumstance is one of the reasons why they were created. Myths and rumors began swarming all around Louisiana, permeating to the rest of the nation. People developed myths, one expressing that the government dynamited the levees near 9th ward and would rather save the rich and leave the poor to their own misery. Citizens claimed that money could be a defining factor in why they were dying, yet no help came from their own government. Consequently, countless individuals lost trust in authoritative administrators that were in charge of giving the best feasible solution for protection.